I fear that rural Nebraska is being left behind. The infrastructure is aging, the population is aging, and few young people are returning due to lack of economic opportunities. An over-reliance on agriculture and a burdensome property tax is regressive to growth in the rural parts of the state. Property taxes paid by Nebraska's farmers are the nation's highest at over $22,000 per farm, yet the industry is commodity based so prices (income) are determined elsewhere. I would work to reform the TEEOSA state aid formula and limit or eliminate the many special tax exemptions currently on the books.

Bachelor's degree, Excelsior College; master's degree, University of Memphis; doctorate in political science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Family

Married, three children

Faith

United Church of Christ

Key issue

My focus will continue to be on maintaining a level of civic discourse. The "Political Brew" that I've initiated in Crete has been a great way to bring people of differing backgrounds together, and to show citizens that we don't always have to fight, even when we disagree. Policy-wise, I'd like to use my experience from the last four years to bring stakeholders together to see if we can flesh out real solutions to our Corrections problems. Fixing the "three-legged stool" of school finance will be critical to fixing property tax problems.

Voter info

» Register in person at an election commission office, the DMV, or in Douglas County, any of Omaha’s 12 library branches.

Registration questions

Visit www.votercheck.necvr.ne.gov to check whether you’re registered to vote and find your polling place. If you think you should be able to vote at a polling place but there’s a problem with the registration, request to fill out a provisional ballot. The election commission will collect them and then has a week to verify whether you are eligible to vote.

To see a sample ballot

See a sample ballot from the Nebraska Secretary of State website here.

To find your district

Visit votercheck.necvr.ne.gov and look up your registration info or polling place to find a list of the political districts you live in.

Important dates

Oct. 1: First day for early voting ballots to be mailed.
Oct. 9: First day to vote early in person at election commission office.
Oct. 19: Deadline to register to vote online, by mail, at agencies, at the DMV office, by deputy registrar or by registration form that’s delivered to the election office by someone other than the person registering
Oct. 26: Deadline for in-person voter registration at election commission office, 6 p.m. Deadline for early voting ballots to be requested to be mailed to a specific address, 6 p.m. Deadline for write-in candidates to file notarized affidavit and filing fee with filing officer.
Nov. 5: Deadline for in-person early voting at election commission office, 5 p.m. (Sarpy County office closes at 4:45 p.m.)
Nov. 6: Election Day! Polls open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. 7 p.m.: Deadline for agent to pick up early voting ballot. 8 p.m.: Deadline to return early voting ballot to election commission office or drop box location
Nov. 13: Deadline for verification of provisional ballots

Here are the Douglas County drop box locations, opening in early October: